Epilogue (13)
“This place has a nice washing machine.”
Early in the morning, I washed the baby blanket, towels, and clothes, then hung them up in the sunny living room. There hadn’t been a standing drying rack, so I’d bought one along with the new towels and clothes for Bin. Money really did fly out of your hands. I’d have to shake the dust out with the dryer.
The news and articles didn’t mention the F–rank Hunter who had caught the kidnappers yesterday. All they said was that the Awakener Management Office had rounded up a ring of kidnappers targeting disabled Awakeners last night and that an investigation was underway. Still, there were posts looking for me on the AMO channels and hunter information sites.
‘A mid–tier male Hunter in his early to mid–twenties. Uses fire skills and a spear. Raising an infant.’
That was what they had on me. There hadn’t been any CCTV or dashcam footage, so they must have pieced it together from the kidnappers’ statements.
‘No black flames, no transforming spear. Chief Song didn’t recognize my voice either.’
I’d used the black flame on purpose, but apparently it hadn’t registered properly. At this rate, there was almost no chance anyone would figure out I was Han Yujin.
‘Maybe this is similar to what happened with Sigma before.’
Back then, Sigma’s face had been exactly the same, and so had his skills, but even his own subordinates, who had fought beside him for years, hadn’t recognized him. If I got caught before I could overcome the “dead Han Yujin” everyone remembered, would they attack me the way they had attacked Sigma? That would be a problem.
‘I really do need to be careful around Yuhyun.’
Everyone else probably wouldn’t recognize me even if I walked straight up to them. I wanted to sneak a look at the kids, but Yuhyun would be nearby. Maybe I could poke around when Yuhyun went into a dungeon. Anyway, as long as I avoided my little brother, it seemed like I could move around without worrying too much.
– Chirp!
“Aw, ahaha!”
Chirp had somehow found something like a strip of sparkling Christmas tinsel and was flying around with it in his beak. Bin reached both hands toward him and burst into delighted laughter. Even though 71 was here, I felt bad about leaving them behind again. For now, Bin still slept more than most babies, and the time she spent awake was much shorter. She couldn’t crawl yet either. But that wouldn’t last forever. I needed to get home before she started walking. That way I could stay by her side too.
I laid Bin down in her crib and called 71. This time, he was Chief Song. Chief Song with a baby. No matter how many times I saw it, it looked like it should clash, and yet somehow fit perfectly.
“Um… would you like to hold the baby for a minute?”
“Yes, Master.”
Seriously, there was no fixing that form of address? Even changing 71 this much took more control than I had… Wearing Chief Song’s face, 71 carefully picked Bin up. She was already small, but in his arms she looked even tinier. How should I put it? It was a heartwarming sight. Chief Song really ought to be the children’s teacher. Was there no way to make that happen? I wanted to take a picture, but if anyone saw it, Chief Song might end up in trouble, so I held back.
“Then I’ll leave them in your hands again today.”
Bin, Chirp, Daddy’s going to work hard and come back.
Huntalk wasn’t out yet, so I diligently searched raid team recruitment sites. I could find the person who created Huntalk, invest a ton of money, and get my name out there… except I had no money. I wanted to go into a D–rank dungeon, even if C–rank was out of the question, but of course no team was willing to take an inexperienced F–rank. In the end, I found an E–rank dungeon that paid decently and sent a message. They were leaving around lunchtime and were looking for an auxiliary attacker, so the reply came quickly.
[Sweet Potato Vine: Sorry, but we don’t take inexperienced F–ranks.]
At least they were polite. Some people opened with insults the moment they saw an applicant below their standards.
[I only don’t have a record because I joined the site today. I’ve tagged along on raids with a guild I know a few times. My equipment is D–rank. I can verify with a D–rank magic stone.]
Verifying equipment was the most reliable method, but since equipment went into your inventory, you couldn’t casually hand it over to a stranger. It felt like a waste to draw up a proper contract over lower–rank proof, so people usually exchanged magic stones or other mass–produced items to confirm the rank of dungeon someone could handle. It wasn’t as if no one ever lied, but a D–rank magic stone wasn’t something an inexperienced low–rank Hunter could easily get their hands on.
Fortunately, Sweet Potato Vine gave me the meeting place along with a warning that they wouldn’t be responsible for me. I ate one energy bar for lunch, something with almost no smell, and headed for the meetup spot. For F– to E–rank dungeons, people usually ate as simply as possible before going in. Eating something with a strong smell, or eating too much, could cause problems. Unless you were a total newbie, those dungeons could be cleared in five hours or less even at the long end, so Hunters usually went in light and ate properly afterward.
‘It’s been a while.’
Going into a dungeon mixed in with strangers, I mean. When I arrived at the meeting place, there was a van waiting. On the side of the van was written “Sweet Potato Farm.” Was that the team name?
“Hello. I’m Han Yujin.”
I greeted the people around the van as I walked over. Four of them. One F–rank and three E–ranks. One of the E–ranks was an attacker, one E–rank and the F–rank were defense types, and the last E–rank was support. It was rare for a low–rank team to have a healer, so this was a decent balance. The E–rank defense–type Hunter accepted my greeting and held out both hands.
“I’m Kim Siyeong.”
I held out both of my hands too. In one of them was a D–rank magic stone. Another Hunter took out a phone and started recording. At the same time, we exchanged magic stones. Kim Siyeong nodded.
“You’re definitely not a complete novice.”
“I’ve been kicked around a fair bit, believe it or not. I’ll do my best.”
Knowing I was about to raid a dungeon with new people made me feel as if I had to apply keywords. I didn’t even have keywords anymore, but old habits die hard. I hadn’t felt that way when I was with the kids. It was like I’d gone back to the old days.
“I’m Park Hyeryeong. A spear is my main weapon too.”
The attacker introduced herself, and Park Seryeong and Jung Jihun also greeted me. Were those two sisters? Their parents must have been seriously against this. After that, we went over the distribution terms and confirmed one another’s positions and skills.
“I mainly use a D–rank attack skill called Powerful Thrust.”
People usually concealed their stats to some extent, but things that would inevitably become obvious during a raid were better discussed beforehand so the team could coordinate before entering. At the mention of a D–rank attack skill, everyone looked pleased.
“With that, wouldn’t you come out as E–rank?”
“I wanted to start as F–rank, so I hid it.”
“I wondered if that might be it! I knew it!”
Park Hyeryeong looked at my earring. …Why did this earring not have recognition interference on it? Why did everyone recognize it? Was it because the design was too common?
“You’re a fan of Director Han Yujin, aren’t you?”
“Uh…”
“Now that I think about it, your name is the same too. You can always raise your rank later, so if it were me, I’d also want to try starting as F–rank.”
I like the Director too, Hyeryeong said, clapping me hard on the back. My stats are F–rank, so that actually hurts a little. She then showed me a key ring while saying Peace was really cute, wasn’t he? Mm. Cute.
“Of course Peace is cute.”
“Did you see the video Dodam uploaded yesterday?”
“…Sorry? A video?”
There was something like that? Hyeryeong immediately turned on her phone and showed me the clip. It was just Peace walking through the Breeding Facility, but I was still glad to see it. Our Peace was doing well!
“What are you doing? Get in already.”
Seryeong lightly kicked Hyeryeong’s leg as Hyeryeong stood there talking with her phone in hand, then climbed into the van first. We hurried in too. Of course, the chatter didn’t stop.
“Here, this is one of the Breeding Facility staff’s social media accounts. They post approved photos and videos, and they’re really good at it.”
“You’re right. These are really well shot.”
Were there any photos of our kids together? Ah, Yerim! She was in a picture with Mar! Mar had grown more too. Thanks to Hyeryeong, I was also able to hear about things I hadn’t been able to look up.
“Put your phones and anything fragile in here.”
There must not have been storage lockers at this dungeon, because we left our phones and the like in the van before getting out. Low–rank dungeons often had poor facilities.
“This dungeon isn’t especially dangerous. In exchange, the magic stones and other drops aren’t much to speak of.”
Kim Siyeong explained as she stepped through the gate first. Since you could run into monsters right past the gate, the defense type used her skill and took the lead. Textbook procedure.
“The main monsters here are E–rank Leaping Lizards that climb along cliffs. They don’t have any special attack skills, but be careful when they suddenly spring at you. Sometimes packs of F–rank Yellow Moss Bats appear. They’re only F–rank, but since they can fly, it’s easier to drive them off and move on rather than try to kill every one.”
Because both attackers were close–range. The environment inside the dungeon was a wide valley lined with towering cliffs. The ceiling was blocked by curving rock walls and thick trees, so it felt almost like a spacious cave. Yellow moss clinging to the walls glittered and gave off light, keeping the place from being dark.
– Krrrrk.
We hadn’t gone far before flat lizards began crawling out one by one. They were about the size of large dogs and relatively slow. Their teeth were sharp, but they had no poison, and as monsters went, they had barely scraped their way into E–rank.
“Siyeong unni takes the front center, and we stand on either side.”
Seryeong, the support type, took the middle, while Jihun, the defense type, stayed at the very back. Hyeryeong expertly stabbed a lizard in the head with her spear and killed it instantly. I also took out my spear. It was the God–Slaying Spear, which I had already transformed into the shape of an ordinary black spear.
“That spear is cool! It looks high–rank!”
“Right? I think it’s cool too.”
The more I got to know Hyeryeong, the better a person she seemed. Even after I’d toned it down, the original was so exceptional that it still stood out. Just then, one lizard spread its tail tight. The moment I confirmed the direction of the tail tip, I raised my spear toward the empty air on the opposite side.
Thud!
Its thick tail struck the ground hard, and the lizard sprang up. Right after that…
Crunch.
As if it had thrown itself onto the spear point, the lizard was skewered through.
“What just happened?”
“Before it jumps, its tail stretches taut. At that moment, the tip of the tail twists very slightly, and then it leaps in the opposite direction.”
“Have you been here a lot?”
I made a casual excuse, saying I’d heard it from another Hunter.
The raid went smoothly. No annoying swarm of bats appeared, and there were no dangerous moments. As expected, though, the haul was meager. Let’s see. It should be about time.
“Hold on. Stop for a second.”
At my words, the team members halted. Dried red flowers were scattered around us. Flowers that had borne fruit and fallen. I tilted my head back to look up toward the dizzying heights of the valley. It was inside that bush.
“There’s a bit of extra income up there, so please catch it from below.”
After saying that, I planted my foot on the cliff face. Lynx Boots really were useful.
“It’s an item. An item.”
An item, not equipment. They seemed like decent people, but you never knew, so I called it a consumable item and walked up the cliff. Standing on a rock wall that curved so far it was nearly past a right angle, I extended the shaft of my spear and rummaged through the bush. There it was.
“Each one is worth two million won! Please be careful not to break them!”
At my shout, the people below hurriedly put away their weapons and spread out coats or towels. Park Seryeong, however, kept holding her spear. Honestly, this team really did seem like the sort that would survive for a long time.
I pushed through the bushes and used the tip of my spear to cut off small fruits hanging from the grass hidden inside, branches and all. Blue fruits came raining down. They were one of the ingredients used in antidote potions. They sometimes grew wild even in low–rank dungeons, but because they hid among other plants like this, they weren’t easy to find. Since they came from an E–rank dungeon, there weren’t many, but there still seemed to be over twenty.
“Do you see these flowers here? If you find them dried and fallen like this, it means there are ripe fruits nearby.”
I came back down and explained it to them. I told them the fruits appeared in this dungeon fairly often, and asked them to spread the information after they earned enough to buy new equipment. Even without using items, an E–rank Hunter could manage the climb with proper safety gear. It would take some time, but that was all.
After securing that neat bit of side income, we continued the raid. It didn’t take long to deal with more than the required percentage of ordinary monsters, and then we reached the boss monster waiting at the end of the valley.
Swaaaaaa!
A thick stream of water plunged down from above the valley, dazzling as it mingled with sunlight. On a large boulder near the pool sat a bird with decorative feathers spread over its head. It was the E–rank boss monster, the Crowned Wave–Tailed Bird.
“Because it’s a flying type, it’s a difficult boss without a ranged attacker.”
Kim Siyeong explained while hiding behind a rock.
“It strikes the waterfall with its tail and launches masses of water. They won’t kill you, but if one hits you properly, you’ll be knocked flat. When the target falls, it attacks with its sharp beak. I’ll take a water mass with my shield and pretend to fall. When the wave–tailed bird dives at me, attack then.”
The bird, about half the size of a peacock, held its head high and scanned the area. It was small, but since it was an E–rank boss, its strength wouldn’t be anything to laugh at. But somehow, the way it was behaving… I heightened my senses and examined the mana flowing around us. In the shallow part of the pool, I felt a mass of foreign mana. This was…
“…It won’t fly up.”
“What?”
“There’s an egg in the pool. It should be around that spot it’s guarding so carefully.”
Kim Siyeong narrowed her eyes a little.
“Now that you mention it, it is acting differently than usual. Normally it flies around this area.”
“It can’t leave the egg, so it’ll be more aggressive, but that also makes it easier to catch.”
After a brief discussion of strategy, Siyeong, Hyeryeong, and I stood up.
– Chirrrrrrk!
The wave–tailed bird gave a warning cry. But as expected, it didn’t leave the area around the boulder. Tap. Kim Siyeong dashed out first with her shield held in front of her. When she made a strong charge toward the spot where the egg was, the wave–tailed bird panicked but still raised its beak.
Clang!
The descending beak struck the shield and bounced off.
“Now!”
Park Hyeryeong and I, who had been sticking close behind Kim Siyeong, slipped out to either side and thrust our spears at the same time. Crunch! The spear blades pierced the wave–tailed bird’s wing and neck. Its fluttering wing soon went still.
“There’s an egg here!”
Park Hyeryeong splashed into the water as she spoke. She scooped up a white egg with a faint blue tint and brought it back.
“It really is an egg.”
Seryeong also examined the egg with a fascinated look. Hyeryeong’s expression turned troubled.
“This feels kind of weird. What should we do with it? I heard monster eggs don’t hatch. Except at Dodam.”
“But Dodam probably won’t take low–rank monster eggs like this.”
“I know. They specialize in high–rank monsters. Though they do have Chirp.”
The wet egg gleamed. It was an egg that would hatch soon. I could feel it. Then maybe it would be fine if it was a little early. If it hatched now. These were good people. So. It would be all right.
Tap.
A small sound came from inside the egg. The two people holding it together widened their eyes.
“Did that just—”
“It moved!”
Tap, tap. A tiny beak knocked against the shell. Soon cracks spread, the shell broke, and a small head popped out.
– Peep!
“Aaah, what do we do!”
“What do you mean, what do we do! Um, should we keep it warm?”
“It was in the water, though. Wouldn’t it be the opposite?”
“Then do we pour water on it?”
– Peep! Peep! Peep!
The baby bird fully emerged from the egg, spread its wet wings, and began crying.
“Is… is it hungry?”
“Monster meat! Unni, hold onto it for a second!”
Park Hyeryeong ran off and cut some meat from a lizard. Since this was the offspring of a higher–ranking monster native to this place, lizard meat was likely to be its staple food. Sure enough, the baby bird accepted the meat and ate well.
“…Are we supposed to raise it? I heard baby monsters are hard to grow.”
“Low–rank ones aren’t. As long as you feed it properly, it should grow quickly. Finding food for it seems easy enough too.”
It felt like a monster that could grow up to D–rank, one that would grow as long as it was fed properly.
“There are low–rank monster tamers in Korea too, and since it’s still a baby, the cost probably won’t be that high. Try raising it well.”
“Us? But I killed its mom…”
“I think its parents would want you two to take it.”
To the outside world, not to a dungeon that reset. Of course, low–rank monsters were not aware of resets. According to Haneul, only the highest–grade individuals, like Flame Horned Lions, could sense something abnormal about dungeons.
‘That’s probably better.’
Ignorance was a mercy. As long as not every monster could leave. Even if they did leave, the dungeon would reset and new ones would appear, so it was an impossible problem to fix while dungeons existed. Maybe once Bin grew and became able to handle the power of the origin, there might be a way.
“Siyeong unni, can we raise it?”
“Do whatever you want. If you raise it well, it’ll be useful.”
On top of that, it would probably have a good effect on Seryeong too. Her optimized skill seemed to be in the monster tamer or monster breeding category, but because it was difficult to awaken that sort of talent through Optimized Awakening, she had only gained a simple support skill. If she raised the baby bird, the chances of her gaining an optimized skill would increase.
‘It was probably affected by me a little too.’
The same went for the bird egg. It seemed the effect of my nurturer title worked a little, just by being nearby. Hyeryeong, who felt friendly toward me and whom I also liked, would probably grow much faster for a while. I needed to be careful not to get caught. If this became known, there would be more than enough people eager to get their hands on me.
“Yujin, we’re going out for a team dinner. Want to come with us?”
We had left the dungeon and were gathering our things when Siyeong invited me.
“I have a very young child at home. There’s someone watching her, but I should get back quickly.”
“A child? Are you married?”
“I’m not married, but… I do have a kid.”
Everyone stared at me in shock. It just happened that way, I said. They told me they wanted to raid with me again, said to let them know if I ever thought about joining their team, and exchanged phone numbers with me. They even drove me home.
‘I’m lucky.’
It wasn’t easy to blindly join a raid team and run into people this decent. Tomorrow, I should go to the Hunter market and sell the magic stones and fruits. Only a few E–rank magic stones had dropped, and the quality wasn’t great, so they would barely come to two million won. But even split among five people, the fruits should earn around eight million. With that much, after deducting living expenses, could I buy broadcasting equipment?
‘…Do I really have to stream?’
I did need to return before Bin grew much bigger, but still. Ugh.
[☆★☆Manager Park Hayul has arrived!☆★☆]
“Gah!”
A system message suddenly appeared. Right in front of my eyes, enormous and glittering. Someone walking past gave me a strange look as I flinched back. That bastard Park Hayul…
[I’m Yujin hyung’s cutie pie! (*￣3￣)╭♥]
‘Cutie pie, my ass!’
Hey, you bastard, you don’t have even the basics of being a system administrator. What am I supposed to do when you shove that right in front of my face? If I’d been in the middle of a fight, I would’ve swung wrong and gotten my head taken off.
‘…Myungwoo, can’t you just help me yourself?’
Clutching my head, which was already starting to throb, I headed for the elevator. The system message stuck to me like a stalker.
[Hyyyyyyung! Please look at your manager! (]_[。)]
“I said I’m not streaming! I’m not doing it!”
I quickly shut the elevator doors and shouted.
[Manager Park Hayul can help with anything! Is it a bombing after all? Are we going to blow up Yeouido?]
“Are you insane?”
[Sorry, honey! The system message connection only just finished, and he suddenly jumped in… I’ll train him properly!]
A message that seemed to be from Haneul appeared, and Park Hayul went quiet. Whew. I’m counting on you, Haneul.
‘Anyway, this means it’s starting now.’
I had more or less secured funds too. Time to begin the journey home in earnest.
“Han Yuhyun, did you see?!”
Park Yerim shouted as she burst through the door. She didn’t even take the time to remove her shoes and instead used her flight skill to head straight for the living room.
“The message! The message Myungwoo oppa sent!”
A little while ago, for the first time in a long while, a system message had appeared. With Yu Myungwoo’s name attached to it.
“Mister is safe!”
Han Yujin is safe. He is with me, and we are preparing to return home. At that short message, Park Yerim’s heart had pounded hard. All this time, she had confirmed that Han Yujin was alive by watching Han Yuhyun. Even so, her anxiety had never fully gone away.
“He says he’s trying to come home!”
But now even Yu Myungwoo had sent a message announcing that Han Yujin was safe. Yu Myungwoo, a system administrator who had not yet returned to this world and might be able to perceive Han Yujin as someone outside it.
“Gyeol saw it too, Auntie!”
Han Gyeol greeted Park Yerim with a bright smile. Han Byeol toddled after him and hopped up toward Park Yerim.
“Byeol saw it too!”
“I got it too.”
Han Seol also nodded. All three of them had received the message. Peace made a small grumbling sound and tilted his head. A message had arrived for Peace as well, but hearing that a dead person was safe and trying to return only left him bewildered.
“Yeah, Hyunah unni and Soyeong unni and—everyone who was there at the end got the message. But other people didn’t know about it. Myungwoo oppa must have sent it specially to you guys!”
Belatedly taking off her shoes and flinging them toward the shoe cabinet, Park Yerim glared at Han Yuhyun.
“Why are you not reacting?”
“I saw it too.”
“Then why are you like that? You don’t even look happy.”
Han Yuhyun answered while continuing to fold the laundry.
“Because I already felt that hyung had come back.”
“You mean when the egg hatched? That was already a few days ago. But there’s still been no word from Mister, and according to Myungwoo oppa, it sounds like he still hasn’t come back yet. You must have been mistaken.”
“…”
After folding the last piece of laundry with crisp, precise edges, Han Yuhyun raised his head. Yu Myungwoo’s message had said that Han Yujin was with him. Outside this world. But what Han Yuhyun felt had not been a sensation of distance. It felt as if Han Yujin was somewhere not very far away.
“You just miss Mister too much. I understand, I do. I wish Mister would hurry up and come back! It won’t take too long, right? It’s not going to take years or anything, is it?”
Saying they should have a party tonight, Park Yerim bounced toward the kitchen. The children bounced too. Han Yuhyun silently furrowed his brow.
‘…Hyung.’
It was strange. But if Han Yujin had truly returned, there was no way he would not come to see him. He would have come immediately, to meet him before anyone else. Was it really a mistake, as Park Yerim had said? Han Yuhyun let out a faint sigh and stood up with the folded laundry in his arms. In one corner of the living room, which had fallen briefly quiet, there was a nest. Belare, who had been guarding the young snake sleeping beside it, suddenly lifted her head.
– Chirp.
– Hiss.
A white baby bird flapped its wings as if greeting Belare. Then, a moment later, it disappeared again.
–TL Notes–
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